SIR Foundation Discovery Campaign Ways to Give

I. Outright Gifts (per the SIR Foundation Gift Acceptance Policy)

  1. Cash, checks and credit cards
  2. Pledges
  3. Donate stock
  4. Real or personal property

i. Gifts-in-kind
ii. Gifts of art
iii. Gifts of real estate

II. Deferred Gifts

a. Testamentary pledges and pledges of deferred gifts shall be included in the Campaign total if they satisfy the following three requirements:

i. The commitment must have a specified amount or percentage of the estate stated in the will, based on a credible estimate of the future value of the estate at the time the commitment is made.*

ii. The commitment must have verification in the form of a letter from the donor or the donor’s attorney affirming the commitment and stating that the institution will be informed of any changes in the will that might be made in the future.

iii. The donor is at least 65 years of age. The Campaign will credit such gifts at 50 percent of fair market value for the purpose of Campaign progress. At age 75, the Campaign will credit such gifts at 100 percent.

b. Per the SIR Foundation Gift Acceptance Policy, the Campaign may count the following types of planned gifts:

  1. Bequests – via either a last will & testament or a living trust provision
  2. Charitable gift annuities
  3. Income from a charitable lead trust established during the Campaign
  4. Charitable reminder trusts
  5. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or qualified plans
  6. Life insurance, in the form of wholly paid policies for which the SIR Foundation is both owner and irrevocable beneficiary
  7. Other plans for deferred gifts will be considered on a case-by-case basis and, if accepted, counted in the Campaign as provided in this policy.

III. Valuing Campaign Pledges and Pledge Payments

  1. Campaign pledges are counted at their face value on the date when they are received in writing and signed by the donor, allowing for electronic transmission. Where required, value will be determined by current IRS appraisal guidelines.
  2. Pledge payments are normally scheduled over a maximum five-year period. Under special circumstances, the Campaign co-chairs and the Foundation’s Executive Committee may extend the campaign pledge payment period.

 

* There is no single or simple way to estimate the future value of an estate commitment. For this reason many institutions have chosen to exclude testamentary pledges entirely from campaign totals. Nevertheless, others feel that testamentary gifts should be included in campaign reports, especially since these often are part of a total campaign commitment being made by a donor. The key to making the decision about whether these types of gifts should be given campaign credit is the age of the donor which should not be less then 65, and the determination of future value of the estate. At best, this requires a judgment call to be made by the institution after conversation with the donor and his/her attorney.